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Digest for 07-04-13

LOCAL

Tigers win second straight

Pine Bluff native Torii Hunter was 1 for 4 with a run scored in Wednesday’s 6-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Max Scherzer notched his 13th victory of the season to lead the Tigers. Scherzer is now a win away from matching Roger Clemens’ 14-0 start to the 1986 campaign as he gave up just two runs on seven hits over 6 1/3 innings.

Victor Martinez — who went 2 for 4 — singled home Hunter in the third inning.

Toronto’s Todd Redmond plunked Hunter with a pitch in the sixth inning, prompting both dugouts to empty and a visibly angry Hunter being held back while gesturing to Redmond, but it didn’t escalate any further. A warning was issued to both teams, though.

NATIONAL

Wainwright claims NL Pitcher of the Month

NEW YORK — St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright was named the National League Pitcher of the Month for June.

Wainwright allowed just nine earned runs over six starts while posting a 1.77 earned run average and a 4-2 record for the month.

The Cards’ ace opened the month with a complete game against the San Francisco Giants before capping June with a similar effort against the A’s, as the right-hander went the distance while striking out eight in a 7-1 victory at Oakland on June 29.

Rangers take a chance on Ramirez

ARLINGTON, Texas — If Manny Ramirez entertained any ideas of returning to the major leagues, the Texas Rangers are about to indulge them.

On Wednesday, the AL West club announced they agreed to terms on a minor league contract with the slugger and assigned him to Triple-A Round Rock.

The 41-year-old is expected to arrive in Texas on Thursday, then work out with the club for a few days before being officially activated.

Ramirez began the season with the EDA Rhinos of the Chinese Professional Baseball League, hitting a robust .352 with eight homers, 13 doubles and 43 RBI along with a .422 on-base percentage and .555 slugging percentage. His contract was terminated in mid-June.

A 12-time All-Star, the native of the Dominican Republic last suited up in the majors two years ago, when he batted just .059 with one RBI in five games for the Tampa Bay Rays before announcing his retirement to avoid a 100-game suspension for a second violation of MLB’s performance-enhancing drug policy.

Nonetheless, Ramirez compiled 555 home runs and 1,831 RBI over 2,302 games with the Indians, Red Sox, Dodgers, White Sox and Rays in a 19-year career.

WORLD

Cavendish sprints to 24th career Tour stage win

Marseille, France - Mark Cavendish won the fifth stage of the 2013 Tour de France on Wednesday, a 228.5-kilometer ride from Cagnes-sur-Mer to Marseille.

Cavendish led a final dash to claim his 24th career Tour stage victory, beating out Edvald Boasson Hagen, Peter Sagan and Andre Greipel and crossing the finish line in a time of 5 hours, 31 minutes and 51 seconds.

A pileup with about 200 meters to go slowed much of the peloton, but the riders lost no time in the general classification. A total of 154 riders were credited with the same time as Cavendish, including Simon Gerrans, who retained the yellow jersey and his one-second overall lead ahead of Orica- GreenEdge teammates Daryl Impey and Michael Albasini.